Unnatural Causes
by Friendly Octopus
Summary: When Goten becomes terminally ill, his best friend just has to get him back, no matter how terrible the solution. Kind of sad.
1. Chapter 1

"Unnatural Causes"

While watching his best friend sleep, eight-year-old Trunks Briefs deduced three things: Goten was paler, Goten was smaller, and Goten was dying. This disturbed him greatly. In his eight years, Trunks had had more experience with loss than many adults, and also, unlike most adults, had seen people he knew return from the dead. So he shouldn't be scared, right? He had to be tough, like his dad, to help Goten through this and then assist in gathering the Dragonballs to bring him back. Right. That's what he would do.

With his plan of action set, Trunks was beginning to relax a little when his mother entered the hospital side room.

"Hey, Mom." he greeted her, "Where're Goten's parents? They haven't showed up all day!" "Oh..." the blue-haired woman replied, "...just... making a few phone calls. Telling family and friends that now might be a good time to visit Goten."

"You mean before he...y'know...dies, right?" Trunks replied, and frowned in confusion at the shocked look on Bulma's face.

"Y-yes, son. I have to say... I didn't think you had realised he's going to..." "Oh, don't be afraid to say it, Mom. It's not that big a deal, we can bring him back. When are we going to start looking for the Dragonballs anyway? Are we going to wait until after he's gone? 'Cause that seems kinda dumb, the earlier we get them, the earlier we can wish him back!"

The sudden despair on his mother's face frightened Trunks.

"What? What is it? Tell me what's wrong!"

"Trunks... there are some wishes that cannot be granted. Exceptions to the dragon's abilities. If a person dies of natural causes - that means things like old age or illness, like poor Goten - they cannot be revived. Trunks... he isn't going to come back."

The young Saiyan was hugely relieved that his father was not present as he began to sob from pure shock at what he had just been told.

"NO, NO! Th-that can't be right! That's just STUPID and W-WRONG! What sort of super magical dragon can only revive people who d-died in an accident or were killed? That's what you mean, right? Well, it's WRONG. I won't believe it!" he managed to force out, trying in vain to hold back his tears.

"I'm so sorry, son...but it's true." Bulma whispered, tears glistening in her own eyes. "Getting angry won't change a thing... I'm afraid nothing can be done at this point."

Knowing her son had inherited Vegeta's stubborn pride, she left him to vent his anguish in private.

After a few minutes, Trunks managed to contain his emotions and wiped the tears from his face. He wouldn't just sit here and let his friend die - die without a change of revival at that! No. He was the son a Saiyan prince and one of the smartest humans in the world! Even if said human had said there was nothing he could do, he wouldn't give up. He was going to save his friend no matter what it took. And he knew right then exactly what it was going to take.

He was startled from his thoughts as Goten began to stir, moaning gently. The older boy's heart began to race. He forced himself to speak, though every fibre of his being was screaming 'NO! Don't do this!': "Goten...hey."

"Hey...Trunks" a quiet voice answered.

"Goten, do you trust me?"

A gentle frown was directed at him. "Of course I do, you're my best friend."

"Then I need you to do exactly what I tell you, okay? G-goten, lie still and close your eyes. Relax, like you're going to sleep. And - and don't move, no matter what you hear, feel or sense, got it?"

With an innocent, unknowing, confused but trusting look, the dark-haired boy obeyed, soon looking, with his pale complexion, like he had already passed away.

His older friend lifted up a trembling hand with a whispered 'Sorry..' and with his eyes shut tight released the largest energy blast he could muster. A large explosion, a faint cry, silence. Then the beeping began, a frantic chorus emerging from the surviving machines attached to Goten, the machines that could no longer help him, a sound that his best friend knew he would never forget as he began to faint, overwhelmed by guilt, fear and the strangest hint of relief.

AN: Sorry for the poorly written angst, but this is an idea I couldn't get out of my head . I've read several fics in which a character dies of illness and cannot be revived due to dying of natural causes, and I have always wondered why they allowed them to die that way. Obviously, Trunks' solution would be an unimaginably difficult thing to do, but perhaps it would be worth it in the end. I don't know, you can make your own judgement on that!


	2. Chapter 2

AN: I never planned on this being anything but a one-shot. It was just a 'What if..' that popped into my head one night that I decided I had to write. However, I have had several requests to continue the story, and I have decided to do so, despite truly having little idea of where I'm going to go with this. Those of you who enjoyed the cliff-hanger ending may or may not want to continue reading, but if you feel that what happens next must be told, please read on and find out (and I'll find out too as I write it!).

Barely conscious, Trunks didn't hear his mother's footsteps as she ran back into the room. He didn't hear the wailing of the many alarms. He didn't see his mother trembling or the expression of horror on her face. The first thing Trunks was aware of was her anguished scream.

The piercing sound seemed almost to release the eight-year-old from what was almost a trance; he was finally able to feel again, and it was overpowering. Without even realising he had moved, he found himself standing by the smouldering remains of the bed, screaming at the still burning flames, unable to direct his eyes to the true source of his despair, the broken, burned body of his best friend.

Later he would only vaguely remember continuing to yell until his throat was raw, continuing despite the attempts of doctors and police to remove him, not moving from his spot until finally his father dragged him away. He would believe that the trembling he felt as his father carried him came only from himself.

Once he had left the destroyed hospital room, there was nothing. Trunks and those around him were blank. Shock had yet to give way to blame, and the terrible silence as he sat with his family in a white room almost as empty as he felt continued until from the room where Goten lay, a sound of pain so raw that it sent a shiver down the spine of all who heard it came. Chichi.

A cycle seemed to have began for Trunks since the moment he had- since what had happened. There would be silence. Then a scream. The door opened, and the pattern was broken. This time the quiet, tense atmosphere was broken only by a hoarse whisper; "Why…?" Chichi's face was that of a woman broken - the many losses she had suffered in the past had not made this most recent blow any easier. No answer came to Trunks' lips. The feeling that he had made the right choice had vanished with the smoke from the blast.

"He killed our son…his friend…"

"If he hadn't, we'd have no chance of ever getting Goten back."

"How could he do it? Such an emotionless thing."

"Or maybe he only could with extremely strong emotions."

"He killed him."

"He did."

That night Trunks felt his state of shock was slowly fading. He wished it wouldn't, because when his mind was clear it couldn't be denied: his best friend had trusted him. Trunks had killed him. How could he ever have thought that was the right thing to do?

The young boy looked up as he heard someone enter yet another quiet room in the hospital where he sat as the police prepared to speak to him. His mother was immediately recognisable by the flash of blue his eyes caught.

"Trunks. I- I don't understand. Why, WHY would you do that? Yes, he was ill, horribly so, but did you really think blowing him up was putting him out of his pain? I don't get it! Tell me you had a reason, no, tell me you didn't do it, because I can't bring myself to believe that my son has killed his best friend!"

The irony that his mother, the genius, the woman whose words had inspired his actions was one of the last to grasp his intentions was not missed on Trunks.

"Mom…I just wanted him to come back to us after…" A tiny whisper from a voice silenced since that morning.

And with those words, the truth struck Bulma, sending her to her knees as if from a severe physical blow.

"You - I told you, natural causes - you saved him from that. You saved his life, no, gave him another chance at life. You killed him. He'll come back to us. I don't know if I'm upset at you or not. I just don't know what to think."

At the reminder that Goten would, if all went well, soon be back among the living, Trunks burst into tears for a reason he knew was selfish, but couldn't stop thinking about.

"He'll hate me!" he cried, and fell sobbing into his mother's arms, where he stayed until his exhaustion, both mental and physical, took over.


	3. Chapter 3

That night, Trunks' and Goten's families left the hospital quietly before the police were able to speak to them. Any conversation with them would soon be irrelevant. Bulma looked over to Trunks, who was nestled in his father's arms, fast asleep. She sighed. It had been a long day for her son, and too for all his family and friends, and she had no doubt that everyone involved would be devoid of happiness until the infectiously always-happy Goten was back among them.

Raking through yet another lot of junk, Bulma was getting frustrated. This had to be at least the tenth drawer she'd searched, yet she still couldn't find the Dragon Radar. It hadn't been all that long since it had last been used, but it had still managed to be misplaced. With a sigh, she recalled that she had been hopeful it would be a long time before it would be needed again. That sure hadn't worked out.

The sound of soft footsteps alerted her to another person's presence. She turned to see her young son with a round device in his hand. He held it up:

"You looking for this? I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep, so I figured I'd go find it to save time."

His blue-haired mother couldn't stop a sad smile from creeping onto her face. Trunks' face was pale, except for the skin around his eyes which was red and puffy. He was clearly tired and was still obviously upset, but was still trying his best to help get his friend as soon as possible. It took an enormous effort for her to not hug her son, but she knew it was not the time. Finding the Dragonballs was far more important.

"OK, you four, I'll give each of you directions to the Dragonballs as you get closer. Three of you will have to get two of them, I'm afraid. Please be safe".

Goku, Gohan, Krillin and Vegeta all nodded their understanding before rising off of the grass in Capsule Corp's grounds. Chichi, Bulma and Trunks watched, torn between hoping the men would be safe, and willing them to return as quickly as possible.

The wait was made to seem even longer and more agonising by the awkward atmosphere in the room where Chichi and Trunks were left to pass the time while Bulma helped direct the search for the Dragonballs. Chichi was still hugely conflicted about Trunks' actions, and found herself swinging from furiously angry to sympathetic to thankful over and over again. The tension between the two was exacerbated by the fact that Trunks was so frustrated over not being allowed to assist in collecting the Dragonballs that he was extremely restless, rarely being still for more than a few seconds. The fiery woman's patience inevitably ran out.

"Trunks! Please, just sit down and keep still before I do something I may or may not regret! It's hard enough being here with the boy who killed my son without you fidgeting constantly!"

Trunks was immediately still enough to give a statue a run for its money. Chichi too froze as Bulma entered the room with a sad smile.

"I know how upset you are Chichi, and I understand why, but please don't take it out on Trunks. He cares about Goten too, you know. I just came to say that Goku has already gotten a Dragonball, and is on his way back. Krillin is very close to his target too. With any luck we'll have them all in no time!"

The good news continued to trickle in in this manner. Vegeta soon recovered a Dragonball from deep in the ocean, and Gohan successfully retrieved another from within a large forest. With only three more to recover, morale was rising as the coveted wish became more within reach. Motivated by this thought, the fighter's spirits were renewed and they continued the hunt long into the night.

* * *

AN: Huge apologies for the boring chapter. It's more of a transition chapter to get the necessary Dragonball search over with, rather than developing character's feelings or anything vaguely interesting. Next one should be more substantial, and hopefully more engaging, and will probably be the last.

One thing I'm a bit worried about in this chapter is how long it would take to find all of the Dragonballs. Time passing is never clearly shown in the series, and I have no idea if four people gathering the balls over 24 hours is realistic. If you think this is a ridiculously short time, please review and tell me so I can change it, and anything else.

Also, just in case anyone's confused on this matter, I am NOT a freaky fish guy.


	4. Chapter 4

Gohan placed the last Dragonball on the grass, where from among the others its two stars shone up at him like the eyes of the dragon. He along with the other fighters had only just returned as the sun was rising, and ,bleary-eyed but excited, the Son and Briefs families were gathered outside of Capsule Corp. Even after having had some time to allow it to sink in, Gohan could hardly believe that this bizarre situation could truly be happening. As an intelligent young student he could see that Trunks' actions had been logical, but Gohan had always been extremely soft-hearted, and could never have imagined doing such a thing himself. To kill an innocent was not in his nature, no matter how much sense it could make. Before the unbelievable events of the last two days, Gohan's family had already been cracking from the stress of Goten's illness. Now his death had shattered them all.

But now he was to return, and with him perhaps normality and happiness would soon follow. Perhaps. A hope Gohan had to hold onto.

As he turned away from the Dragonballs and moved further back, Gohan shot a nervous smile at his father, obviously trying to seem calm and collected. Goku smiled knowingly back. He could see his son's thoughts and emotions plainly on his face - Gohan never had been good at hiding his feelings. His excitement at getting his brother back, his sadness over losing him in the first place, his despair over the entire situation, all of these were so clear they might as well have been written on his forehead to anyone who knew the young man. His father smiled; it seemed to the older man that Gohan had completely misunderstood the situation. Rather than debating whether Trunks had done the right thing or not, the question people should be asking themselves, Goku thought, was why it was an eight-year-old boy who actually did something, and not them.

Despite his childish and carefree attitude, Goku had long ago outgrown the naïve belief that killing was always wrong. Since a young age he had often found himself fighting extremely evil beings who could not be allowed to live. He knew what it was to kill, and was in a way proud of Trunks for being able to make such a tough decision. But he also felt extremely guilty that the young boy had been forced to do so. Goku too had realised the one way to escape losing Goten forever, and he had no doubt that he and Trunks were not the only ones. Yet instead of a grown adult, it had been a child who had taken the matter into his own hands. Goku wasn't sure he could ever forgive himself for that.

The recent incident had left everyone involved with a lot to mull over - but there were things that had to be done. Bulma stepped in front of the small crowd and cried loudly:

"Eternal Dragon, by your name, I summon you forth: Shenron!"

* * *

AN: Oooh, we're nearly there! Guess this isn't the last chapter after all :P Apologies for the pathetic length, but the next will be following very soon!


	5. Chapter 5

A disoriented Goten found himself suddenly in a place he was fairly sure was not the Other World. There was a feeling of life in the air which was indescribable but undeniable, and this certainly helped him to conclude that he was alive. But the main clue was the sight of his family and friends several metres away. A grin quickly dominated the young boy's face, and he automatically began to sprint towards them, leaping into his mother's arms as he neared his family.

"Mommy!"

"Goten! Oh, I can't believe you're back!"

"Welcome back to life, little brother!"

The Son family crowded together, each member desperate to reunite with the youngest, and everyone dizzy with euphoria. Those watching from the outside couldn't help but smile; even Vegeta found a somewhat-happy smirk sneaking onto his face. The light that had left the surviving family members' eyes two days ago had returned, and was laughing like the pure joy was overflowing within him.

Once all the hugs, tears and smiles were mostly out of the Sons' systems, another significant reunion seemed inevitable.

Two pairs of eyes, one dark, one blue, met each other as Goten removed himself from his father's embrace. Nothing was said.

The older boy broke the eye contact first, turning away to hide any tears he feared he might not be able to hold back. He hadn't expected everything to be just fine between him and his best friend, but he hadn't truly prepared himself for how much it hurt to not be acknowledged by Goten. Then he heard quick, light steps and before he could turn to defend himself from what had to be an attack, he felt a pair of small but strong arms wrap around his torso and he froze, waiting for Goten's hatred to show itself. Instead he felt the arms release him and finally spun round to see the younger boy smiling at him sheepishly.

"Heh, sorry. I know you don't like hugs much."

Trunks' high intellect could not comprehend this comment.

"W-what?"

"But I just had to! Cause you're my best friend and I was bored being dead with you not there and I missed you!"

Goten didn't hate him? "You…don't hate me?"

"No way! You're my best friend and I was confused when I was suddenly in the Other World and I didn't know why I was dead but then I asked some other dead guy what he thought and he said you probably killed me and I didn't get that and I was annoyed cause it kinda hurt when you blew me up but then I met King Kai and he told me you did it so you could get the Dragonballs and bring me back! And that's the bestest thing anyone has ever done for me! So now you're even more my best friend than ever!"

Trunks wasn't the only one baffled by this outburst. Everyone present was stunned by this unforeseen reaction. Trunks could only seem to make himself say one thing:

"You really don't hate me?"

"Nope!" replied Goten, his eyes shining," How could I hate the person who killed me?"

It was clear that he didn't realise what a strange thing that was to say.

* * *

AN: THE END. Heh, sorry if anyone has drowned in cheese. I promised myself I wouldn't make a soppy and-they-all-lived-happily-ever-after ending. I seem to have broken that promise.


End file.
